Champions Hockey League Draw on Friday

First-ever CHL draw will take place in Zurich on Friday, April 25 at 12.30

ZURICH – The first-ever Champions Hockey League draw will take place on Friday, April 25th at IIHF headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Conducted by IIHF President René Fasel, the draw will determine the make-up of the Group Stage of the Champions Hockey League to debut in October, 2008. Representatives of the clubs as well as their National Associations, Leagues and media will be in attendance.

Click for an extensive Q & A interview with IIHF President René Fasel where he, among other things, talks about the Champions Hockey League, the upcoming 72nd IIHF World Championship in Canada, the impending election at the IIHF General Congress, the relations with the NHL and the future of international hockey in general.

The 12 clubs from Europe's Top-7 national leagues will be drawn into four groups of three teams in each. In order to balance the groups, the 12 clubs will be divided into 3 different pots, organised as follows:

Pot I: The national champions from nations ranked 1-4 in the special IIHF 2008 League Ranking*: